Guide to the Richard Egan Manuscript Maps of Orange County
Processed by Processed by Adrian Turner; machine-readable finding aid created by
Adrian Turner
Special Collections and Archives
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California
Irvine, California 92623-9557
Phone: (949) 824-3947
Fax: (949) 824-2472
Email: spcoll@uci.edu
URL: http://special.lib.uci.edu
© 2000
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Note
Geographical (By Place)--California--Los Angeles Area
History--California History--Los Angeles Area History
Social Sciences--Geography
Guide to the Richard Egan Manuscript Maps of Orange County
Collection number: MS-R72
Special Collections and Archives
The UCI Libraries
University of California
Irvine, California
Contact Information
- Special Collections and Archives
- The UCI Libraries
- P.O. Box 19557
- University of California
- Irvine, California 92623-9557
- Phone: (949) 824-3947
- Fax: (949) 824-2472
- Email: spcoll@uci.edu
- URL: http://special.lib.uci.edu
- Processed by:
- Processed by Adrian Turner
- Date Completed:
- 2000
- Encoded by:
- Adrian Turner
© 2000 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Richard Egan manuscript maps of Orange County,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1878-1879
Collection number: MS-R072
Creator:
Egan, Richard, 1842-1923
Extent:
1 linear foot
(1 box)
5 digitized images
Repository:
University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.
Irvine, California 92623-9557
Abstract: Four manuscript survey maps and one plat map depicting areas of
Orange County and attributed to the noted surveyor and judge Richard Egan. One map is dated
1878 and 1879 by Egan. The other maps are undated and unsigned but it is likely that he drew
them during these years. These maps primarily depict subdivisions of non-rancho tracts of
land occupying what is now Orange County, with the addition of some topographical details.
Language:
English.
Selected digitized images from this collection.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by
the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish,
please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred Citation
Richard Egan Manuscript Maps of Orange County. MS-R72. Special Collections and Archives,
The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Acquisition Information
Purchased and donated by the Friends of the UCI Libraries in 1995.
Processing History
Processed by Adrian Turner in 2000.
Biography
A surveyor and judge by trade, Egan was dubbed by the actress Helena Modjeska as the "King
of Capistrano." He was a Los Angeles County supervisor from 1885 to 1889 and also served on
a commission to develop the Orange County public highways. An Irish immigrant, he had
arrived in San Francisco during the Gold Rush and eventually moved to San Juan Capistrano
after amassing a sizeable fortune. He was active as a surveyor during much of the 1870s.
Egan died in 1923.
For further biographical information, see Samuel Armor,
History of
Orange County California with biographical sketches
(Los Angeles: Historic Record
Company, 1921), 373-374. See also Pamela Hallan-Gibson,
Two hundred
years in San Juan Capistrano: a pictorial history
(Norfolk, Va.: Donning Co.,
1990).
Collection Scope and Content Summary
Four manuscript survey maps and one plat map depicting areas of Orange County and
attributed to the noted surveyor and judge Richard Egan. One map is dated 1878 and 1879 by
Egan. The other maps are undated and unsigned but it is likely that he drew them during
these years. These maps primarily depict subdivisions of non-rancho tracts of land occupying
what is now Orange County, with the addition of some topographical details.
Three maps depict non-rancho lands bordered by several ranchos, including one map with some
geographical and man-made features in the western section of Boca de la Playa. One map
illustrates the land occupying Rancho San Joaquin (including the present site of the
University of California, Irvine). The plat map depicts the Mission at San Juan Capistrano.
Egan's signature can be found on the survey map of lands bordering Rancho Niguel. The other
maps are drawn in the same, consistent hand. All maps are drawn on thin canvas. The lines
are created entirely in black ink, with numbers in red and highlights in blue and red
pencil.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Mission San Juan
Capistrano--Maps.
Orange County (Calif.)--Archival resources.
Rancho Boca de la Playa (Calif.)--Maps.
Rancho San Joaquin (Calif.)--Maps.
San Juan Capistrano (Calif.)--Maps.
Genres and Forms of Materials
Maps--California--Orange County--19th
century.
Maps--California--San Juan Capistrano--19th
century.
Plats--California--San Juan Capistrano--19th
century.
Occupations
Surveyors--California--Orange
County.
Collection Contents
Box 1 OS : 1
Mission San Juan Capistrano, undated.
Physical Description:
42 x 42 cm.
Note
Plat map depicting town plaza and perimeter, including mission church and courtyard,
adobe walls, some roads, orchards, vineyards, and cemetery. Scale is listed as 3
chains to 1 inch.
Box 1 OS : 1
Rancho San Joaquin, undated.
Physical Description:
43 x 60 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Extends from the Balboa Peninsula (labeled "Sand Spit") to Laguna Beach (labeled "Long
Beach") along the western edge of the map. Extends from a geographic feature labeled
"Red Hill" and the Santa Ana River along the northern edge of the map. The map's
southern edge is marked by public lands and Rancho Cañada de Los Alisos. Some
topographical features. Scale is listed as 1 mile to 1 inch.
Box 1 OS : 1
Survey of lands bordering Rancho Niguel, 1878-1879.
Physical Description:
47 x 52 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Signed "R. Egan, December 11th 1878 (date of contract) ... Feb. 26th 1879 (when
surveyed)." Contains holograph note "Rec'd and filed in the U.S. Land Office Los Angeles
Cal. March 29 1879."
Box 1 OS : 1
Survey of lands around San Juan Capistrano, between boundaries of Rancho Niguel
and Rancho Boca de la Playa, undated.
Physical Description:
29 x 45 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Includes topographical features and roads both in the non-rancho lands being surveyed
and in the eastern section of Rancho Boca de la Playa.
Box 1 OS : 1
Survey of lands east of Aliso Creek bordering Rancho Cañada de los
Alisos, Rancho Trabuco, and Rancho Mission Viejo, undated.
Physical Description:
48 x 50 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Includes topographical details.
